The Supreme Court has refused to intervene in the Sunil Kedar case. Disqualified MLA Kedar has filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking an interim stay on his conviction in the over 150 crore government bond purchase scam in the District Central Cooperative Bank.
On December 22, 2023, the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate’s Court in Nagpur delivered its judgment. Sunil Kedar was sentenced to 5 years in jail and a fine of Rs 12.50 lakh. Following this, he was disqualified from holding the position of MLA for six years under Section 8 (3) of the Representation of the People Act as he has been sentenced to imprisonment for two years or more. The Legislature Secretariat issued a notification in this regard on December 23, 2023. Kedar needs to obtain a stay of conviction to reverse this action. Without it, he cannot contest the upcoming assembly elections.
First he filed an application in the Sessions Court seeking stay of conviction. The Sessions Court on December 30, 2023 rejected that application. Subsequently, the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court dismissed his application on 4 July 2024. As a result, he approached the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court has now refused to interfere in the case. Although Kedar had started preparations to contest the upcoming assembly elections, the Court’s decision means he will not be able to participate